Mum’s warning over common playground mistake

A mother has issued a warning begging fellow parents not to make the same mistake she did when taking her child down a slide.

A mum has warned other parents not to make the same playground mistake she made that left her toddler with a broken leg.

Jean, who runs Instagram account Momma Will Teach, explained she had assumed it was safe to take her son, 18 months, down a slide while sitting on her lap, The Sun reports.

But recently discovered it’s actually incredibly dangerous after her son broke his leg when she took him down a slide.

The US mum shared the tip she wished she’d known before, explaining it was something not shared in any parenting handbook or told by any doctor.

A mother has taken to Instagram to share a warning after making a common mistake at a playground. Picture: Instagram/mommawillteach

“Here I was, a mum of 18 months, thinking how sweet to put my toddler on my lap for additional support,” she wrote.

“Boy, was I wrong and learned the hard way. Five short months after he started walking he had a broken leg from lapping it on a slide!”

She then shared a video of them going down the slide together before cutting off at the point where his leg got caught.

The mum didn’t think twice about letting her son go down the slide on her lap. Picture: Instagram/mommawillteach

In 2017, researchers at the American Academy of paediatrics found more than 350,000 children under the age of six were injured on slides in the US between 2002 and 2015, and many of those injuries were leg fractures.

Of that group, toddlers aged between 12 and 23 months had the highest percentage of injuries, with the most common injury overall a fracture at 36 per cent.

She only realised afterwards that he had broken his leg. Picture: Instagram/mommawillteach

Lead researcher Professor Charles Jennissen said the size and weight of an adult plays a big role in the potential for injury, as a young child sliding by themselves is unlikely to hurt themselves severely even if their foot catches due to the relatively low forces involved.

Speaking from her own experience, Jean said: “When they are sitting on the lap of a parent, the relative force is much greater because of additional weight.

“This means, you’re going down the slide at a much faster speed, making the chance of a broken bone more likely if the child’s foot catches on the slide’s surface.”

Instead, the mum urged other parents to wait until their child has the core strength to go down the slide on their own.

She added: “Always let your little one go down the slide solo!”

One viewer replied: “I’d love to see signs up at playgrounds! Lots of caregivers don’t have any idea it’s dangerous. Sometimes I will say something, because I have experienced it myself with my niece riding on my lap.

“There are so many things we can’t protect our kids from, but this is one that’s completely preventable!”

Another added: “I’m guilty of this; was horrified because I actually thought I was helping out for once with my sister.”

Meanwhile, a third wrote: “This just happened to our little guy too! We never knew how dangerous it was! It’s crazy how quickly their little bones heal.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission